Essay Ideas and Structure: Public Services

The topic below was just reported in the IELTS academic writing task 2 last week. Take a look at the topic and see some ideas and vocabulary below to help you.

Some people think that the government should spend more money on public service rather than wasting money on the arts. To what extent do you agree.

Public Services: Schools, Health Care, Public Transportation etc

The Arts: Museums, Galleries, Theatre etc

One Side Essay Structure:

Introduction: Direct Answer: I disagree that money should be taken from the arts for public services. (this approach gives a clear position on one side and therefore the essay can only give information supporting that side)

Body Paragraph 1: Art is important because all societies need to express their culture through art.

Body Paragraph 2: The arts are often poorly funded and therefore if money were directed away from the arts for any reason, even for public services, it would likely fail entirely.

Body Paragraph 3: Public services do not require more funding because…

Conclusion: restate your opinion and summarise main points.

Balanced Approach Essay Structure

Introduction: Direct Answer: I agree that public services such as health care and transportation need more funding but not at the cost of the arts which are still very important. (this approach gives a clear position and allows you to write about both sides.)

Dear Liz,
I was in peace and I thought I understand opinion essay finally, until I saw the one sided opinion provided above.

It seems to me like we are neglecting part of the question,
I thought that we should write a paragraph about the other issue which is public transport
Like
Bp1. Why we should spent money on arts
Bp2 . Why we should not spend money on public transport

It is a known fact that the government is spending a large sum of money on different sectors. Arts is of no exception. Although i agree that, it is important to spend more amount on public services, it did not mean that spending on art is a waste of money.

There are several reasons to spend a significant amount of money on public sectors. First and foremost, the government should allocate the funds according to the priority, where the public services are the prime focus. That includes hospitals, schools and roads. Attributing the budget in these field will strengthen the health, education and transportation of the people which in turn will escalate the standard of a country. For instance, through more governmental hospitals the health of the citizens will increase. Similarly, proper education can be delivered to children through additional educational institutions.
However, this does not mean that the arts should be neglected. To begin with, it is the responsibility of a government to preserve the culture and heritage of a country, which exist through the field of arts. Furthermore, many arts institutions are facing many hurdles to generate much profit. So without some help from the government many theaters and other such places cannot withstand. Moreover, arts also have an important impact in our quality of life. Many people get pleasure in going to see music and theater performance. So it is the duty of the government to assist such institutions that can continue providing entertainment to the public. Finally, arts brings economic benefits to a nation in the form of tourism , where arts play a key role.
To sum up, spending on public service ensure a large amount of benefits to the society. But i do not believe utilizing money on arts is a waste of money as this too have great impact on the society.

Hi Liz…… can you please correct the essay and give me the feedback and score.

It is suggested by many people that government authorities ought to utilize more money on public services instead of misusing money on arts. In my opinion, although I agree that public services such as health care system and transportation need more funding but not at the cost of arts which are still very important.

Could you please verify whether my background statement is correct or not?

Could you please comment on this introduction. I’ve taken points from your suggestions
It is considered by some that more money should be utilised on public sectors, for instance healthcare or transport system, instead of supporting arts with large sum of money. In my opinion, I agree that public sector (transport and aneeds more funding as it is the determining factors of a nation’s development but not at the cost of arts which are still very important

Hi
Liz,
I have a doubt in my opinion essay, if I agree in one side, is it ok i can write However paragraph mentioning other side and ending with my agree statement. Then conclusion paragraph please give a feedback
thanks alot.

Hi Liz
I know, you are on vacation sorry for the disturbance
if i write my answers(listening and reading)in capital letters , if there is in the answers (eg. multiple question answers if any lower case letters what shall i write, capital letter or lower? ) Please if Liz not available, any one can replay please
Thanks.

Liz, what if I get a question like “Some people think that the government is wasting money on the arts and that this money could be better spent elsewhere. To what extent do you agree?”, I want to know if I could mention only public services as other areas? Or I must talk about something else than public services?

It is your choice how you interpret “other areas”. However, personally, I would think of two minimum. For example, education and health care. Public Services is still good as it includes many facilities and services.
Liz

I have read all of the tips on how to excel in the second part of the IELTS writing exam. You make it a point to always give a link that you don’t comment on essay writings as of the moment. I just want to ask if you correct/ and give comments on essays which are of band 7 caliber?

In addition, I just want to ask if you have any tips on how to write faster. I think my worst enemy in this writing exam is time. No matter how I plan and construct my ideas, it takes me a lot of time to erase and edit my work for it to be worth of a good score.

I hope you can enlighten me as well such as the countless students you’ve helped.

Sorry but I don’t comment on any writing now because I don’t have time. For writing faster, I can only suggest practice. To avoid errors, which take time to correct, you need to develop better English and plan each sentence. You only need to write about 13 sentences in the essay so plan each one.
Liz

Thank you for spending precious time answering back to my query. I think I will just try planning the 13 sentences that I need to construct for me to be successful in landing a passing score in my upcoming IELTS exam this 24th of October.

I just have a question not only for myself, but also for all of your avid fans, which are predominantly students.

Does the UKVI IELTS exam have the same test structure, guidelines and rules compared with the regular IELTS exam?

I have big plans in applying for a nurse position in your country. Given a chance to get there (UK) through success in my UKVI IELTS exams, I will certainly go to one of your seminars, lectures and thank you in person or even get your autograph. ^_^

A balanced approach does not mean agreeing with both sides, it means have a specific opinion with a clear position. You can choose a one-sided approach or a balanced approach – both approaches can get band 9. It is all about how you present your ideas and support them.
All the best
Liz

If you only agree with one side then your essay contains only that. The idea is that you give an opinion in the introduction and explain it in the body paragraphs. It does not ask you to discuss both sides or present other people’s views. I know this can be confusing. If you need detailed training please watch my opinion essay tutorial: http://subscriptions.viddler.com/IELTSLizStore
All the best
Liz

numerous individuals surmise that government is squandering money on arts.Rather than, spending money on public services such as schools, heath care and so on. In my opinion I believe that government should utilize money for bringing up our nation by introducing new technology, develop hospitals and many more. However,I also believe that some money should spent for developing museums and art.

Hi liz
First of all thank you so much for your tremendous effort in helping us to achieve a targeted score.
plz comment on my essay.

It is argued by some people that public service should be given top priority in terms of funding than to arts .In my opinion,although, public service such as health care and transportation plays an important role in people, investment in arts sector should not be diverted away.

Firstly,health care system, a basic need to people obviously must rate top category , as long as health is good , a better productivity of a country is expected, compromising in health sector tends downfall of nation. Government should forecast a budget plan to establish more health sector not only in cities but also in urban areas.

Secondly, public transportation also plays a vital role in development of nation . Through only the means of transportation people can travel to any corner of the world, thus, funding in transportation sector helps greater movement of people throughout the nation and the world . Definitely, this can help improve the developing process of the country , exchange of goods ,employment opportunity,tourism attraction are some positive feedback of growing transportation.

On the other hand, overshadowing the value of arts via cutting off budget on this sector leads lack on preservation of our heritage and culture,eventually, these aspect of society will demolish with no existence.In addition, arts and culture are the ornaments of country that make us renown in the world, it is a source of tourist attraction through which tourist industry can flourish giving benefit to the country, moreover, arts and craft make the history stay alive to stage of generation.Therefore authority should have keen interest on this field as well.

In conclusion, although, public service has much importance in the development of country, government must equally divide the budget in all sector including arts and architecture.

I know very well that you are certainly a busy person.but if you correction any 5 essay of comments may be it will be helpful for every one.lots of things we can learn by these corrections.. thank you for your benevolent step.

For this essay it’s fine as long as your main points directly relate to the issue in the essay question. But be careful sitting on the fence with other opinion essays – it isn’t a technique that works with all essay questions.
Liz

Hi liz,
Would you please tell me which intro would be better and give me a score for it?
It is strongly believed by some individuals that the authorities should spend the greatest sum of money on public service and not on arts.
It is strongly believed that it will be a waste of money if the government funds the arts rather than the public service.However, in my opinion, the public service and the arts are of equal importance and therefore the government should maintain focus on both of them.

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Hi, my name is Elizabeth (Liz). I am your IELTS teacher and the author of this website. My aim is to help you understand IELTS and achieve a high score. I am an experienced teacher and completed my IELTS examiner training in 2008.